Giovanni's Revenge
by Civie
Summary: As a young boy sets out for his own Pokemon Journey, Giovanni is preparing for his revenge upon those who were his downfall.  Expect many battles between stronger and stronger Pokemon, bonds of friendship and some odd twists of fate. 1 Chapter a week!
1. Prologue

~o~ Giovanni's Revenge ~o~

-o- Prologue -o-

It was dark in the hall. Dark and damp. The lone man stood before the only other door than the one he came in through.

"So, this is it..." he muttered, his voice muffled by the cloak he wore, "very well, let us begin."

Fumbling on his belt, he took two Pokeballs, enlarging them and tossing them on the ground. A few seconds later, two Machamps were standing before him. "Break it open" he commanded them, pointing at the door.

The Pokemon nodded in response, turning around to the door. With a few punches the door was laying on the floor, and the room behind was open. The man walked in, taking another Pokeball and sending out the Pokemon inside.

"Telekenesis" he commanded.

The pokemon raised his right arm, and a purple pulse shot through the room.

"Light the room" the man commanded afterwards.

The pokemon immediatly began to glow around the body, illuminating the room. As the light hit the creature in the back of it, the man smiled.

"Now you're mine Giratina" the man said with a smile, taking a dark ball from his bag.

Throwing it at the pokemon, he smiled. He knew fully what he was doing, what the consequences would be for the balance in the world. As the pokemon was disappearing into the ball, the pillars inside the rooms crumbled into a piece of rubble.

"Well, that was to be expected. Machamps, come back" he said, pointing the balls on the two pokemon. As they were disappearing in their balls, he ran to the exit. He was smiling, almost bursting to a laugh if he wasn't running for his life.

"Do you have him" the woman waiting at the entrance to the cave asked.  
"Yes, I have him" the man replied, "now, let's get out of here."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Journey's Start Ceremony

"Hey, Nikki! Wait up!" the boy shouted to the girl just ahead of him.

She turned around, to check who called out to her. When she saw who it was she halted so he could catch up.

"Hey Nikki, on your way to the Ceremony" the boy asked.  
"Yes, of course Ricky, where do you think anyone in this forsaken town has gone to?" Nikki replied.  
"Hmm, yeah... That's a no-brainer of course" Ricky muttered.  
"Anyway, do you know which Pokemon you're going to choose? I think I'll take Bulbasaur or Chikorita, they're so cute!"  
"Hah, I'am going to take a Charmander, it's the strongest they have" Ricky said to her, "I challenge you to a battle as soon as we have them."  
"No way, Charmander has a type advantage, so no way I'am going against that until I get a Water type."  
"Aww, that's no fun" Ricky muttered.

They continued while talking about their plans of their Pokemon Journey.  
As they neared the PokeLab at the edge of town, the road started to get more and more crowded.  
Everyone in the town was going to the Journey's Start Ceremony.

The Ceremony was held in a circular area aside from the PokeLab, which also held the Region Farm where, among others, the Starter Pokemon were bred for this Region.  
The circular area, or PokeRing as everyone called it, was filled from top to bottom. On the ground, a large table was set, with several boxes holding the Pokedexes, and several trays with Pokeballs.  
Behind the table sat the local Professor, nicknamed Maple due to his red hair, his assistant, and a man who had his head shrouded in shadows, so nobody could see him.

The gates were closed, and Maple rose, holding a microphone in his hand.  
"Welcome everyone, to the 250th Journey's Start Ceremony" he said.  
With a wave of the hand he silenced the crowd again, continuing:  
"Because this is the 250th, we have a special surprise for those who will receive his first Pokemon today. Of course, you will have to do something for that."  
The crowd murmured at this announcement, but a handwave silenced them.  
"Also, the handout will be done by someone else than me, namely a famous Master you'll all know. I presume you will all know the normal routine of handout, so please come forth when your name is called."

As the first person came at the table, the man cast back his cloak, revealing he was Master Ketchum. The boy almost fainted, as did most other kids who were waiting. He was known for what he managed to do during his journey.  
Especially his encounters with several Legendaries upped his fame in the whole country.  
With a smile, he took the Pokeball with the pokemon the boy wanted, and handed it over together with the Pokedex.

After a few minutes, it was Ricky's turn. As the hands of Ricky and Ash touched, Ash recoiled for a moment, looking deep in his eyes, as if he could see what would happen to Ricky on his journey.  
The moment passed in less than a second, so Ricky didn't notice, nor did anyone else.

After the handout was done, Ketchum took the microphone from the table.  
"Listen everyone, this is the surprise: one of you may battle me, and the choosing was mines to do. After consideration, I choose to battle Ricky and his Charmander.  
I myself will use a Bulbasaur, which will of course be of equal level as the Charmander."  
At this announcement the other kids were disappointed, but Ricky wondered why he was chosen. But he quickly recovered from this, rushing towards the arena in the center of the PokeRing.

"Now Ricky, you have type-advantage, and I will let you do the first move too" Ketchum explained, "Let us begin. Bulbasaur, come out!"  
"Alright, you're going down! Charmander, go" Ricky shouted as he flung the Pokeball into the field.  
"Charmander, Ember!" he commanded.  
The charmander obeyed, and a clump of fire shot through the air towards Ketchum's Bulbasaur.  
"Bulbasaur, use your vines to jump and use Razor Leaf" Ketchum said calmly.  
"Charmander, Fire Spin! Quickly!"  
"Stun Spore" Ketchum commanded, standing calmly.  
The spores were burned, but not entirely.  
"Charmander watch out!" Ricky said, but it was to late. Some of the spores were inhaled as Charmander inhaled to fire another Fire Spin.  
Almost immediatly, he was standing stiff.  
"Alright Bulbasaur, start charging Solarbeam."  
"Wait, what?" Ricky said, "I thought Solarbeam was a Technical Move?"  
"Not for some Pokemon. Don't forget that. That's what this kind of matches are meant for. Not to beat me, but to learn" Ketchum explained.  
He took the microphone, not watching the battle now.  
"Listen, even if you have types in your advantage, you need tactics and a strategy to win. Brute force won't get you anywhere" he explained to the fresh trainers.  
"Any Pokemon can be defeated, every single one has a weakness. Learn them, and use THOSE to your advantage. That is the way to become Champion and ultimately a Master.  
As you see here, even a equally leveled Bulbasaur can defeat a Charmander. Why? Because I used his strong points, like the ability to jump high using his vines, to overcome the weaknesses."  
"Well, I think they understand Master" Professor Maple said, "but what about your match? Charmander is almost cured of his paralysation."  
"Ah yes, well, remember that charging I commanded?" Ketchum said, continuing with a casual voice "Bulbasaur, fire."  
With that, Bulbasaur unleashed the solarpower stored in the bulb, firing a high-powered stream of pure energy towards Charmander.  
Still being paralyzed, he was hit with all it's power.  
"Joy, I think that Charmander needs healing" Ketchum told the Nurse, who was sitting in a special seat with direct access to the PokeCenter.  
"Yes, of course, I presume the officialities are done?" she asked the Professor.  
"Everythings done. Of course, the festivities will continue through the day. I bid you all farewell, and Master Ketchum, I hope to see you again.  
"I'am sure we will" he replied, turning around towards the exit. 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Bug Business

"So, this is route 461" Ricky said to himself, reaching for the Pokedex on his belt.  
He flipped it open and Dexter, as Ricky nicknamed the Pokedex Guide, started talking.  
"Route 461 connects Storock Town and Terrea Town. The route consists of large grassy fields scattered on plains.  
The area houses primarily bug and grass pokemon, such as Caterpie, Weedle, Bellsprout and Wurmple.  
Special about the area is a group of Scyther living here, tough they are hard to catch, especially for a new trainer."

Ricky closed the Pokedex, thinking of which pokemon to capture.  
"Dexter, advise on capturing a Scyther" he said, flipping his 'dex open again.  
"Scyther, the mantis pokemon. A fierce and proud fighter, the trainer has to prove him or herself towards the pokemon.  
To catch this pokemon is equal to a long hunt if a pack is in play. If a single or scattered Scythers are spotted in an area, the trainer should focus on one Scyther.  
Wait for a good window of oppurtunity to attack it. To subdue Scyther, Fire type attacks are recommended. Putting it asleep or paralyzing it are also recommended."  
"Dexter, nearest location for Scyther" Ricky said against the 'dex.  
"Scanning. Please wait" Dexter responded.  
After a few seconds Dexter gave a ping.  
"Scyther detected. Position north-east, circa 100 meters. Warning: multiple heat-sources detected. It is not recommended to attack this, highly likely to be a group of, Scyther."  
"Screw it" Ricky responded agitated "Charmander, ready for this?"  
"Char-char[Of course]" the Charmander responded.

Ricky slowly made his way through the grassy patch of land, hoping he could sneak up on the Scyther he had in his sights.  
As he reached the end of the patch of grass, he ducked and peered out of the grass.  
He saw a lone Scyther sitting against a tree, and a group of three Scythers with a greenish stain on their blades standing around it.  
It appeared they fought, and the sitting one lost. Suddenly one of the standing ones jabbed towards the head of the sitting Scyther, but a fast reflex saved it from a certainly fatal headwound.  
As the Scyther prepared a Guillotine blow, Ricky lost it.  
"Charmander, FLAMETHROWER!" he shouted.  
Charmander shot up, inhaled and blew a large jet of fire towards the three Scythers.  
Taken by surprise, they were all more-or-less caught in the blast.  
Being scared by this sudden attack, they turned and flew away across the plain.

"Well, that's taken care off" Ricky said to no-one in particular, "let's take care of that Scyther."  
As he approached the Scyther, he saw what the stain was: blood, which was still dripping from the wound too.  
"Oh my, that's one nasty wound. Scyther, I would like to help you. I have a potion which might stop the bleeding" he said, hoping Scyther would understand.  
Taking out his 'dex, he pointed it towards the wound and flipped it open.  
"Scyther, male. Low life signals. Immediate treatment with any potion on all wounds required for survival" Dexter said.  
"I guessed so much. Anything else Dexter" Ricky responded to the 'dex Health Monitoring System.  
"Recommended to put pokemon inside a pokeball after immediate treatment. Travel to nearest PokeCenter for intensive medical treatment. Estimated time of death: 6 hours and 23 minutes if action is taken now."  
"Estimated travel time to nearest PokeCenter?"  
"Please wait, calculating..." Dexter said in response, continuing almost immediatly, "ETA Terrea Town PokeCenter 5 hours 49 minutes on fastest route."  
"Alright, let's see if Scyther will co-operate. Scyther, will you let me help you to at least survive?"  
"Scyther. Scy-scyther-scy."  
"Translation: No. I must die honourably."  
"If you let me help you, you can gain you honour back by other means."  
"Scyther. Scy-scyscy-scyther-scy."  
"Translation: What? How can I gain honour with a human?"  
"You can gain battle experience and challenge those three again to win."  
"Scy... Scyther. Scy-scy scyther scy scy-scy-scy."  
"Translation: Well... okay then. But I request to do it on my terms."  
"That is alright. But we must talk about that after you have been patched up."  
"Scyther. Scyth, scy-scyth-scy scyther-scy."  
"Translation: Agreed. Now, hurry up and get it over with."  
"Heh, my pleasure."

About 6 hours later, in Terrea's PokeCenter, Ricky is waiting in the main hall.  
As Joy comes back from the Treatment Chamber, he stands up and walks towards her.  
"And, will he survive" he asks her.  
"Yes, he will. I saw from the wounds it was a Scyther that attacked him, so I presume you did nothing to hurt him?" she says in response.  
"Of course not. I just wanted to help him" Ricky says with a near-agitated tone.  
"Easy, easy. I already saw it couldn't be by your doing that this was done. You're just a beginner, and a Scyther would be way beyond your league now."  
"We'll see."  
"Oh, bye the way, I have information regarding Scythers. This scyther has requested to stay with you. I wouldn't advise it but apparently he swore a life debt to you."  
"Wh-what?"  
"Yes, thought so... Well, stay here untill tomorrow, and see what happens between you."  
With that, she walked back to the Main Counter and greeted another trainer who just entered with the standard sentence.  
"Well, guess I'll go to bed then" Ricky thought. 


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Bug Brothers

The next morning, he was out early. He questioned the PokeDex about everything it had stored about Scythers and learned they sometimes swore life debts if they were in serious danger.  
It seemed he was already going to get a second pokemon, and to make it even better, it was a Scyther, one of his favourites.  
As the door to the Forest-chamber opened, he saw the Scyther sharpening his blades.  
"So, Scyther, I guess we have some things to talk about" Ricky started talking.

Two hours later, he came out with the Scyther besides him.  
After exiting the Center, Ricky took an empty ball from his belt and enlarged it.  
"Are you sure of this Scyther, there is no way back" he asked one last time.  
"Scyther" the Scyther responded.  
"Translation: I am." Dexter translated automatically.  
Throwing the ball softly against the Scyther, it opened up and sucked it in as usual.  
After it pinged to complete the capture, he took it up and fastened it to his belt.  
"Welcome to the club Scyther" Ricky said with a smile on his face.

A few minutes later, Ricky was standing before the biggest building in the town: the Pokemon Gym.  
It was entirely made of wooden logs and uncarved rocks, build in the shape of a dome.  
Above the standard-issue automatic doors, several Bug Pokemon were engraved in the stone slabs.  
Most prominently were a large Pinsir and a Scyther in the center.  
As Ricky walked through the doors, the scent of the forest came rushing towards him.  
He could see a dense mini-forest standing in the center of the dome, with the trunks being used as support to keep the dome up.  
Scattered among the trees were hanging several Metapods, Kakunas, Cascoons and Silcoons.  
He also saw one or two flying bugs, sparring under command of their trainers.  
In the center of the dome was clearing; a circle just big enough to hold the traditional Arena.

As he approached the arena, two trainers jumped out of the trees blocking his path.  
"We, the Bug Brothers" one of them said.  
"Challenge you to a battle" the other finished.  
"If you cannot defeat us" the first one said.  
"You have no hope to defeat the leader" the second finished.  
"Allright, I'll take you on" Ricky said, "I suppose this is a dual-battle?"  
"Yes it is, isn't it John" one said.  
"Indeed it is, Jones my brother" John said.  
"Do you always talk like that" Ricky said, "it's really annoying."  
"Only during introductions, of course" John said.  
"Then let us battle" Ricky said with a smile on his face.

"Go Illumise! Double battle!" Jones called out while throwing his PokeBall on the ground, releasing the pokemon inside.  
"Team up Volbeat!" Johns said, and promptly a Volbeat jumped out of one of the trees.  
"Alright, this should be easy. Charmander, Scyther, go!" Ricky said, calling the pokemon out.  
As the pokemon appeared on the field, Ricky noticed Johns and Jones shared a quick glance, probably knowing the odds were against them.  
"Illumise, give Volbeat a Helping Hand" Jones commanded.  
"Thanks Jones" Johns said, "Volbeat, Signal Beam on Charmander!"  
"Charmander, dig underground" Ricky called out.  
It was too late, the beam had hit the belly of Charmander his upper halve was underground. A muffled cry of pain could be hurt, but Charmander kept digging.  
"Scyther, Wing Attack on Volbeat!"  
"Flash him Volbeat" Johns quickly said in response.

A fraction of a second later, a bright light exploded, rendering Ricky blind for a few seconds.  
"Illumise, Shock Wave" said Jones, knowing it would hit all pokemon on the field.  
"Charmander, come out of the ground and use Flamethrower on Illumise!" Ricky shouted, hoping Charmander would hear it.  
A slight rumble announced that Charmander did hear it, and was working his way up. With an eruption of dirt he came out of the ground, firing a swirling blast of fire towards the Illumise.  
Not being able to react while charging, the Illumise got hit full center.  
As the flames disappeared, the Illumise fluttered to the ground.  
"Alright, good job Charmander" Ricky congratulated him.  
"Illumise, return" Jones said with a solemn tone.  
"Volbeat, Thunderbolt on Scyther!" Johns commanded.  
"Scyther, Double Team and follow with a Quick Attack!" Ricky quickly commanded in response.  
"Volbeat, turn Thunderbolt to Schock Wave!" Johns reacted.  
Scyther was hit by the Shock Wave full force, or so it seemed. The afterimages formed by the Double Team were hit, but none remained as the real one.  
Then, suddenly, Scyther flew down on top of the Volbeat, ramming it into the ground. After stepping the pokemon, it was clear Ricky had won.  
"Congratulations. You bested us" Jones said, "now, you're free to battle the Leader." 


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Battle of the Bugwarriors, and strangers...

Standing in the center was the Gym Leader, Rachelle.  
"So, another trainer comes to challenge me" she said, "can I see your pokedex please?"  
"Why do you want to see my pokedex?" Ricky asked.  
"I need to know what your progression is, so I can balance my team towards your pokemon" Rachelle answered, "you don't want six powerfull bugs against you, do you?"  
"No, of course not. Go ahead" Ricky said while handing over his pokedex.  
"Hmm, you just started I see. A Charmander and a Scyther. A bold choice, I give you that."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Charmander and Scyther are among the hardest to train of pokemon. You do get something good in return of course."  
"Well, that's why I chose Charmander. And that Scyther, I saved him from dieing in the fields on route 461."  
"Ah, a Debt of Honor? You're lucky. But enough chit-chat. My pokemon has arrived."  
"Any special rules?"  
"I suggest your bug versus my bug. Is that alright with you?"  
"Alright, that's fine with me" Ricky said, already taking Scyther's pokeball from his belt.

"Go Scyther!"  
"Pinsir, get on the field" Rachelle said, and a fraction later a Pinsir was standing on Rachelle's side of the field.  
"I'll let you start as the challenger" Rachelle said.  
"Alright, Scyther. Get up in the air and use Double Team!"  
"Pinsir, focus your energy."  
"Scyther, Swords Dance!"  
"Pinsir, copy that Swords Dance."  
"Scyther, on my sign, Air Slash."  
"Pinsir, Vicegrip!"  
With that, Pinsir jumped in the air. Ricky knew this would be his chance to hit a critical strike, because Pinsir wouldn't be able to evade.  
"Scyther, attack now!" he commanded.  
Immediatly Scyther stopped spinning, and as he slashed the air, a shockwave traveled from his scythes towards the Pinsir.  
It was a direct hit, and the Pinsir was blown to the ground.  
"Pinsir, are you alright?" Rachelle asked, and the Pinsir answered by standing up defiant, with horns clicking.  
"Scyther, use your speed, Double Team again" Ricky called out, and Scyther was lost in a flurry of movement.  
"Pinsir, focus and prepare to take that blow." Rachelle countered.  
As Scyther started to go faster and faster the blurs of his body became fainter, untill it was no longer possible to know where he was.  
"Pinsir, try to detect him" Rachelle commanded, knowing this would do her Pinsir a heavy blow if the attack would hit.  
The Pinsir did try to detect the Scyther, but the immense speed at which Scyther was moving was to much to follow accurately.  
"Scyther, attack at will" Ricky commanded calmly.  
Immediatly, Pinsir was blown from the side onto the ground. As it stood up, it was blown from the back.  
Everytime Pinsir tried to stand, he was blown back onto the ground, not capable of countering the blows of Scyther.  
"Alright, I surrender! You have won" Rochelle said, knowing there wouldn't be any point in fighting further.

"That was... cunning. But also dangerous. But I'am not going to give you a lecture" Rachelle said.  
"Here, this is the Rachea Badge. Also, you will find the cash reward for beating me to be send to your account. Finally, here's the TM you're eligible for. It's Vicegrip. It might come in handy."  
"Alright, thanks."  
"Oh, and there's another thing. Someone requested an escort. I can't fill you in on the details, but it will be rewarded if you take the job."  
"Sure, I'll take it. At least, I suppose the escort is towards Firidares City?"  
"The destination is on the same route, yes. The escortee will fill you in on the details. She's waiting at the Center, or will sent you a message where you will meet."

Heading back to the pokecenter, Ricky went to the Pokemart to get some treats for both pokemon. Taking his pokedex to check his credits, he walked towards the treats meant for pokemon. Taking a sixpack from the rack, he noticed two people in the back conspiciously talking to each other. Not being able to hear what they were talking about he decided not to interfere.

Walking to the rack with a collection of pokeballs and healing medicine he felt a hand in his pocket, and heard a soft voice: "keep acting as normal. Read the note."

Taking the note out of his pocket and unfolding it, he read what was definitely typed: 'Go to center. I'll message tomorrow. Record with pokedex conversation in the back, but DON'T GET CAUGHT. Burn note ASAP.'

Putting the note back in his pocket, he took a premium-pack of pokeballs and potions, then walked towards the back. As he reached hearing-distance of the two people, he turned to the racks, trying to look as if he was searching for a specific item.

"- Island of [inaudible] hunt. P and D can be contained." the male said. He was clad in a black longcoat, which reached all the way down to his ankles, but had no markings.

"X is still close. Nearly [inaudible] must be done [inaudible] City." the female said. She was also clad in a similar black longcoat, but she had a noticable silver trimming on the parts around the neck.

"Team is ready. Set to [inaudible] Pass [inaudible] transport to HQ." the male said.

"Good. I will report. Move out." the female said, turning around and leaving the mart.

The other man stayed a minute longer, then left through the door.

Only now did Ricky dared to move again. He hurried to the counter, paying for his items, and left to the PokeCenter. Taking a good dinner, it was already 5'o clock in the evening, he decided to spent the rest of the day the room he had been granted by Rachelle.

After sending Scyther to the Forest room and Charmander to the Plains room, he headed for his room. There, he burned the note and turned on the TV, relaxing and waiting for the following day.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Escort Mission

The following day, Ricky woke up refreshed at the PokeCenter.  
Having won his first badge the day before, he felt he could take on the world.  
While lying on his bed, the pokedex beeped twice to notify he had received a message.  
Taking the pokedex from the table, he flipped it open and pressed the button for his inbox.

Good morning mister. I hope I do not wake you up with this message. it started.  
I have received word that you are to escort me along route 462 and Mount Majisto towards our mutual destination, Firideras City. I will be arriving at the pokecenter at ten-thirty.  
Ricky pressed pause, checking what time it was. It was already ten-eleven, meaning he had only nineteen minutes left to prepare.  
He quickly jumped out of bed, pressing play and ramping up the volume so he could listen to the rest of the message while dressing up.  
I have a Magnemite with me for lighting inside the caves, and a Machop for any obstructions. However, these are not yet fit for battle. That is were you come in. If I reach my destination without any major problems, you will receive a reward.  
Ricky already knew what this would mean: stock up on potions and possibly some pokeballs, as all the pokemon had to be chased away, or be captured if not frightened enough.  
A compensation will be delivered upon arival at our destination. End message.

As the message ended, Ricky closed the pokedex and stowed it in his pocket. Rushing down, he took a double sandwich and a can of milk from the counter, telling Joy he would pay when he arrived in Firideras.  
Upon entry of the lobby, the clock struck 10:30. At the same moment, the main door opened and a young woman walked in. She spotted Ricky, and immediatly walked towards him.

"Are you Ricky, by any chance?" she asked.  
"Yes, I am" Ricky answered, "are you the one I have to escort to Firideras?"  
"Don't talk about that please. I think I'am being followed. No questions please." she said briskly, "I hope you have some capable pokemon. Tell me, what do you have?"  
"I have a Charmander as my starter, and a Scyther who sort-of pledged a life-debt to me."  
"Hmm, that won't do in the caves though. You should catch a Grass, Water or Fighting type before we enter the caves. There's an icecave we have to pass through, but that's to far in to catch an Ice type."  
"Okay, I'll do that. Shall we go then?"  
"We leave at 10:45. I need to see the nurse first. By the way, my name is Cassandra."  
"Okay Cassandra, I'll wait here untill you're back."

With that, Cassandra turned towards the counter where a Chansey was standing. Ricky saw her talking with the Chansey after which she disappeared through a door besides the counter.  
"I wonder how she could talk with that Chansey" Ricky said to himself, taking a seat in the lobby.  
A few moments later, a Happiny came walking towards the table he was sitting at, holding a note with his name on it.  
'Go to Plains room. Meet you there' was all it said.  
"Happiny, you can go and tell the one who gave you the note I'll be there" he said against the waiting pokemon.  
The Happiny turned around and walked back to where she came from.

Ricky left towards the hallway, but unbeknownst to him, a man stood up and left the center.  
The man took out a cellphone, dialed and was answered.  
"Target has an escort. They leave in approximately two minutes. ETA 13:45."  
The man hung up, and walked to a motorbike standing parked near the Center.  
'This'll be easy' he thought, 'a rookie as escort. The fool.'

-ooo-

They had been travelling on foot for two and a half hours, with only two short rests. Cassandra obviously wanted to get to Firideras quickly, but she hadn't told Ricky why. Each time Ricky tried to come up with it, she managed to steer it away from the apparently touchy subject.

They now had left the green fields behind them, and where walking on a narrow path with almost straight-up cliffs on both sides. Ricky didn't feel comfortable, and had taken out the TranqGun he bought in the Mart the day before. Even though it would knock out any hit pokemon (or human, for that matter) in an instant, it wouldn't help capturing as the tranquilizer would stop working as soon as a pokemon was energized.

"So, I expect you want to become the Regional Champion, and then continue on to become National Champion of the Leagues?" Cassandra asked.

"Yeah, the League is next year, but I want to get all eight badges so I can focus on training my team" Ricky answered.

"Smart choice. I'd recommend to take the Champion's Challenge, it's a great way to see how far your progress is."

"The Champions Challenge? What's that?"

"It's on the Island of Konishima, and is actually several challenges for your pokemon" Cassandra started to explain, continuing with a long-winded talk about the rules, different areas and so on of the area.

-ooo-

"Sir, target with single escort has been sighted at checkpoint A, ETA to point B is 10 minutes, ETA to interception 25 minutes" the woman said.

"Good, order everyone to stay on their guard, they are not too be seen. I must leave now and leave you in charge of the operation" the man replied.

"Thank you for your confidence sir. I won't fail you, sir."

The man turned about and stepped upon the Charizard waiting.

"To Larista Manor Charizard. You can rest there" the man said while mounting it.

The Charizard snorted, took a short sprint and leapt of the cliff to create momentum.

"And now for you, Cassandra" the woman said with a smile, "this will be over before it has begun."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Mystery Pokemon

"Checkpoint B here, they have passed us. We are blocking the way."  
"Good. Eric, Johnson, man the explosives. Sara, standby with the capture device."

With a nod, everyone acknowledged, and started moving to their respective posts.  
A few minutes later, Ricky and Cassandra came walking into view, busily chatting with each other.  
Suddenly, two explosions rocked the cliffs, causing a downpoor of debris blocking the way back and forward.

"Professor, hand us the pokemon you are carrying and no-one will get hurt. Attempt to escape and we will use force."  
"Hah, you think I'd ever hand it over? Besides, you'd never be able to control it."  
"So, you choose the hard way. Very well. S, go ahead."

As soon as the command was given, webs came flying down from the top of the cliffs.  
Having no time to react, they were caught with no escape.

'So far, so good...' Cassandra thought.

-ooo-

"Where is it?" Cassy screamed in the face of Cassandra.  
"I won't tell you" Cassandra replied in a calm tone.  
"Do I have to let the little boy suffer for you then?"  
"What? Are you crazy?" Ricky exclaimed.  
"Hmpf, if you want to know, I'am under strict orders not to harm any humans or pokemon so you're lucky."  
"Why did you threaten him then?"  
"Meh, I like messing with people's head. Make's them easier to break. Well, goodnight. Oh and the room is sealed so you'd better be nice and calm."

-ooo-

"Well, let's see..." Cassandra said while staring around the small cabin.  
"It seems the wall is indeed pretty durable. I don't think my Machop could break it. Melting is possible though. I hope your Charmander and Scyther have followed us here."  
"I do hope so. Scyther can cut the bonds, and Charmander can burn a hole in the wall. But what's up with that pokemon they want? I think I'am entitled to know by now."  
"I'll tell you a bit about it. It's an Eevee."  
"An Eevee? But they are common in this region, why don't they catch one in the wild?"  
"That's the reason. This Eevee can evolve on command in any of the forms it has already been into. And it can devolve back too."  
"Wow, that's pretty handy to have in your team."  
"Yes, well, currently, it can already evolve in Jolteon, Vaporeon, Flareon, Espeon, Umbreon, Glaceon and Leafeon. In this region however, an area has been discovered with strong spiritual presence."  
"Ah, you're planning on having it evolve into a Ghost-type?"  
"Well, yes. There is a myth about a group of pokemon that can use all types of attacks. Two you should know: Ditto and Mew, the first by transformation, the second is said to be the first pokemon in existence."  
"Ah yes, and then we have the creator-pokemon, known as Arceus. And you mean this Eevee?"  
"Yes. The myth says that when all four have existed, the fifth shall come forth and seek the trainer who is meant to become the True Master. We don't know what that means though.

-ooo-

Outside, two pokemon stand outside the building holding Ricky and Cassandra.

'Char, charmander'  
'Scyther-scy'  
'Chaaaaaaaaarrr-'

A fraction of a second later, a blast of fire runs through the room, burning a hole in the wall large enough for a human to go through.

'Charmander, char-char'  
'Scyther-scy, scy-scyther-scy'

As Scyther steps inside, Ricky and Cassandra have waked up a bit to notice his silhouette.  
With a quick move, he cuts the bonds of them both, and helps them to stand up.  
"I knew you would come. Have you hidden the ball?" Cassandra asks.  
'Scyther, scy-scy'  
"Okay, we'll get it as quickly as possible."

-ooo-

Half an hour later, Ricky and Cassandra are standing under a Black Apricorn tree.  
"This is the place, certainly" Cassandra says to herself.  
"Charmander, dig the ball back up."  
'Char-char'

As Charmander disappears in the ground, Cassandra turns to Ricky.  
"We'll have be quick and get into the mountain before they find us. Machop can create a cave-in so they can't follow us."  
"Okay, as soon as Nightfire is back up we leave."  
"Magnemite will give us lighting in the dark caves, but it would be wise if you keep your eyes out for a grass or water type, or something similar."  
"There's a river running from the mountain on this side, which must be crossed before entering the caverns itself. I'll be able to get a water-type there."  
"Good, oh and there's Nightfire. Thank you for retrieving it."  
"Okay Nightfire, back in the ball" Ricky says while holding Nightfires pokeball towards him.  
"Let's get outta here" says Cassandra while hoisting her bag and turning to the mountains ahead.

-ooo-

"WHAAAAAATTT? THEY ESCAPED?" Cassy screamed against the messenger.  
"Tell everyone to gear up for a search operation. PRONTO!"

After pressing a button on her desk, Sara comes in.  
"HOW COULD THEY ESCAPE? EXPLAIN IT! THEY WERE IN A SEALED ROOM!"  
"It seems the Magnemite and Machop where from the professor alone. It seems the trainer had a fire pokemon and possibly one with cutting-power, probably a Scyther."  
"And how can two pokemon perform a rescue operation on their own?" Cassy says, now somewhat cooled off.  
"We think it has to do with the professor. There are rumours a group of scientist have managed to create an universal pokelanguage translator."  
"Oh yeah, the boss said something about that. Dammit. That bitch must have told the pokemon of the trainer to stay behind and follow them closely."  
"What are your orders ma'am?"  
"All-out searching party towards the mountain. I will go to the entrance personally."  
"And what about informing the boss?"  
"I'll deal with that" Cassy says with a grim voice. 


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Journey in the Dark

"Scyther, Air Slash!"  
Seeing the attack making contact with the Lombre, Ricky enlarged the Great Ball.  
Five seconds later, a satisfying ping confirmed the capture.  
"There, that'll do as a Water-type. I'am ready for Majisto" Ricky said.  
"Good, it's about five to ten minutes walk to the entrance from here. We'll need to ramp up the pace. Do you have a bike?"  
"No, not yet. I was hoping to get one in Firidares. There's a shop there which sells top-grade MTBs."

Walking with a fast pace, Ricky and Cassandra were now close to the entrance of Mount Majisto. After a final bend, they could see the entrance.  
They could see multiple trainers resting before they entered, or after getting through the cave. Ricky knew he wouldn't have time for that, so he called out Scyther whilest walking.  
"Scyther, are you damaged from the battle with that Lombre? This is the only moment I can heal you, and it must be done walking."  
'Scy, scy-scyther.' [No, I don't healing.]  
"Alright, could you then fly towards the entrance to check if any of those mysterious people are there?"  
'Scyther.' [Sure.] With that, Scyther flew of towards the entrance. Ricky saw the Scyther looking around, displaying no emotions.  
As the Scyther returned however, he did noticed that he was a bit nervous.  
'Scyther. Scy-scy scyther-scy.' [Trouble. There's a Charizard.]  
"Hmm, these trainer's don't look like they could handle such an advanced pokemon. I was afraid of this." Cassandra said.  
"What do we do now?" Ricky asked.  
"Call Scyther back in his pokeball. I'll use a Smoke Ball to get us into the cave."  
"Okay. Scyther, come back."  
"As soon as we enter the clearing at the base, I'll throw it. Run inside the cave. I'll follow you."  
"Got it."

Attempting to walk casually, they continued.  
As the approached the last line of the trees, Cassandra took out a Smoke Ball and primed it.  
Throwing it in the center of the clearing, it exploded into an enormous cloud of thick, dark smoke.  
"Now, run!" Cassandra shouted against Ricky as she started to run.  
Ricky attempted to catch up with her, but could do nothing more than keeping the distance between them the same.  
Suddenly, it got even darker, but the air less thicker.  
He still couldn't see anything, so he kept running into the dark.  
Suddenly, the light of a materialising pokemon was ahead of him.  
"Magnemite, light please." he heard Cassandra say, and a small but potent beam of light was directed toward the ground.  
"Now, it's a two-day journey to the other side. We'll have to take a longer road to put them off our trail, so we go topsides. That means one day extra."  
"Aww men, that sucks" Ricky said with a down voice.  
"Yeah, I know, but it can't be helped now. You know what, I'll make sure you get that bike for free. I have... influence, in Firideras" Cassandra said, feeling a bit guilty.  
"Cool, that makes it more than up to me" he now said with a more happier tone.

-ooo-

"So they escaped?" the man said.  
"Yes. That bitch used a Smoke Bomb to get into the darkness of the caves" Cassy answered.  
"That is unfortunate. However, it seems X is not unique. Setim has returned from his mission and not only brought back both his targets, but evidence of a group with the same mutation as X."  
"Interesting. Maybe we could capture the entire bunch?" Cassy replied in astonishement.  
"I already ordered Setim to set up an operational base."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door, and after confirmation of the man, another man came walking in.  
He was about 6'2", a headslength larger than both Cassy and their boss, and had a dark skincolor. His eyes were the first thing that was noticed as remarkable, being as blue as an Articuno.  
He kept his body in perfect condition, what could be seen by his muscular legs, arms and torso.  
Cassy was the polar opposite. A white skincolour and green eyes, she has an atlethic build, but not as magnificent as Setim.

"Good day to both of you" Setim said in his deep voice, "sorry for the interruption."  
"It doesn't matter. What do you have to say?"  
"I have received word from my group that they have succesfully set up a base. Infiltration and observation are starting tomorrow, and I expect the first results to arrive in about a month. I also took the liberty to place my two targets the holding blocks."  
"Good. I'll see to it that you and your group are rewarded."  
"Thank you, my liege. My men will surely enjoy some entertainment" Setim said whilst bowing, "I will leave to contact my men and instruct them on further actions."  
"Cassy, Setim, I want both of you to take some rest. I want a meeting with all admins tomorrow morning at nine o'clock in the main meeting hall."  
"Yes sir, I shall contact the other to inform them" Cassy said, before leaving the room.  
"Then I will retreat to my chambers, my liege" Setim said, bowing deep before turning around to follow Cassy.

-ooo-

- 2 days later -

"We're almost at the highest point. We'll only be descending from that point" Cassandra said.  
"Good, it's freezing here" Ricky replied.  
"Of course it is. We're about two-thousand meters above sea-level in a location with almost constant downfall."  
"I hope we don't run in much more pokemon on the way down, I'am running out of potions."

"Shit!"  
"What is it Cassandra?"  
"Sneasel, possibly Weavile. They passed here only moments ago."  
"Is that bad?"  
"It depends. If there are nests close by, we have to be VERY lucky not to be attacked."  
"I'll keep Nightfire ready."  
"Heh, so that's your final decision for you Charmander?"  
"Yeah. I've also decided to nickname my Scyther Swiftblade."  
"Nice. And your Lombre?"  
"I don't know. I think I won't use it much, so I'll just send it to the farm so it can be in the open air."  
"Good. At least you won't let it waste away in the PokeBoxes."

-ooo-

"Ai, that's what I was afraid for. Nests." Cassandra said.  
"Nightfire, come out" Ricky called, holding the ball in the palm of his hand.  
"Make sure his flame doesn't go out, or you might end up killing him."

Shuffling steps could be heard at their sides, but they couldn't see anything due to the darkness.  
Even with the slight lighting from Nightfire and the bright light of Magnemite, they could barely see where they walked, always risking tripping over a rock, or worse.  
Suddenly a Sneasel jumped between them, taking a potshot at Nightfire, who responded with a quick fireball.  
This made more Sneasel attack, and Nightfire barely could hit them all before they disappeared again.  
Suddenly a relative huge Sneasel jumped inbetween them, pushing Cassandra aside.  
As Ricky had given Nightfire the command to attack all pokemon on sight if hostile, he released a barrage of fireballs, some hitting, some missing.  
The Sneasel reacted with several Ice Punches, freezing part of Nightfire's body.  
As Nightfire charged up another attack, he defrosted just in time to evade an attack from behind, and positioned him behind the Sneasel.  
Releasing the fire withing, a huge Flamethrower-attack wrapped the Sneasel in fire.

Ricky saw his chance and took his only Ultra Ball and primed it for capture.  
As the fire diminished, he saw the Sneasel was heavily damaged, and he threw the ball.  
Watching at the heavily shaking ball, he hoped it was strong enough to contain the Sneasel.  
Ten seconds later, the Sneasel apparently had given up or lost his last fighting strength, and a ping notified the capture.  
Immediatly, the surrounding Sneasel hurried away, now that their apparent leader was taken out.

"That takes care of that" Ricky said.  
"That Sneasel was absurdly large. But we should hurry up, we're a few hours away from the exit" Cassandra said.  
"Some fresh air would be nice yeah."

With that they picked up the pace, and started the last stretch towards the exit. 


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Arrival at Firideras City

"I knew you would take the long way through" the man said.  
"Who are you?" Cassandra asked.  
"My name is Marcus. You already met my partners, and I'am here to set right what went wrong" Marcus said.  
"Oh great, you're with those bastards that want to take the Eevee?" Cassandra asked.  
"Yes, so hand it over or be ready for a world of pain."  
"No, we'll fight for it. If I win, you leave without it. If you win, well, you might actually get it." Ricky said confidently.  
"Fine, the odds are on my side anyway" Marcus said, already taking one of his pokeballs from his vest.

"Nightfire, go!" Ricky called out.  
"Hah, as expected. Poliwhirl, crush him" Marcus said, almost casually sending out his pokemon.  
"Nightfire, dig underground!"  
"Poliwhirl, spray the ground with water."

As Nightfire disappeared underground, the spray of water touched the ground. As Poliwhirl continued, the ground started to saturate and pools were already starting to grow.  
Getting into trouble, Nightfire came up and burst from the ground close to Poliwhirl.

"Now Poliwhirl! Water Gun!" Marcus ordered.  
"Nightfire, Flamethrower!" Ricky shouted at the same time.

The attacks collided, resulting in steamclouds blocking the sight of the two pokemon.

"Poliwhirl, more power now" Marcus ordered, hoping to come through by brute force.  
Ricky then remembered the words during his battle at the Ceremony in his hometown, and quickly tried to come up with a plan.  
Nightfire was now struggling to keep the water at bay, and the Poliwhirl was winning ground.  
'Dammit... I guess I'll have to call him back' Ricky thought, already readying Nightfires pokeball.  
At that moment, Nightfire began to glow white while continuing the attack.

"What the hell" Marcus exclaimed, "Poliwhirl, come back!"  
"Alright! Nightfire is evolving!" Ricky shouted joyfully.

As the glow stopped, a Charmeleon was standing proudly on the battlefield.

"Blast it, well, guess I've gotta match that with something else" Marcus pondered.  
"Well, are you going to give up?" Ricky asked.  
"No of course not" Marcus replied, taking his second pokeball from his vest, having put back the ball with Poliwhirl, "go Electabuzz!"  
"Nightfire, Flamethrower on Electabuzz!" Ricky shouted as the Electabuzz had materialized.

Taking in a huge amount of air, Nightfire launched a large Flamethrower, hitting Electabuzz frontally in the chest.

"Hah, Electabuzz is stronger than my Poliwhirl, and can take quite something before noticing it" Marcus boasted.  
"We'll see how long this will take then" Ricky said.  
"Not very long, that's for sure, Electabuzz, Thunderbolt!"  
"Nightfire, try to evade it!"

Nightfire jumped aside, but the Electabuzz controlled the thunderbolt easily, sending it over the ground to Nightfire.  
Making contact, Nightfire became paralyzed and fell to the ground.  
Seeing no point in continuing the fight with Nightfire, Ricky called him back, sending out his newest catch: the huge Sneasel.

"What the hell is that?" Marcus exclaimed loudly as the Sneasel was out of the ball.  
"Frostclaw, Ice Punch!" Ricky ordered.

Frostclaw was at Electabuzz in no-time, leaving it no time to counter. With the Ice Punch making contact, Electabuzz' froze, leaving him incapable to fight.

"Darn it, back to Poliwhirl then" Marcus said, switching back.  
"You can also give up" offered Ricky.  
"Never" Marcus said with a defiant tone, "Water Gun!"  
"Counter with Ice Punch on the jet of water!" Ricky ordered.

As Frostclaw's attack made contact, the jet of water froze in place, leaving a chunk of ice behind.  
As it fell on the ground, it broke into several fragments.

"Poliwhirl, Body Slam!"  
"Frostclaw, Ice Shard attack, use the fragments!"

Having the advantage of speed, Frostclaw's attack made contact while Poliwhirl jumped up.  
Already weakened by the fight with Nightfire, Poliwhirl fell to the ground and fainted.

"Guess that makes me the winner. Now leave as promised."  
"Fine, I'll go. But know this: there will be others that will try to get to you and that pokemon."

With that, Marcus left, leaving Ricky and Cassandra behind.  
"I think we'd better move for the City Gate, it's about an hour walk from here" Cassandra said.  
"Yeah, I hope we don't run into any more trouble now" Ricky said.  
"We probably won't. We'll hit the main road just around that corner over there. It's always busy there with people, so we'll be safe there."  
"Let's move then."

Just over an hour later, they were standing before the PokeCenter.  
"You can rest here as usual. I rest at the laboratory. I will send someone here for the reward tomorrow."  
"Okay, I'll wait here then. I'am hungry and tired, so I will probably stay here for a day before starting training for the gym here and beyond."  
"Goodbye then, and good luck with the gyms."  
"Goodbye"

With that, they parted, Cassandra walking to the Laboratory a few blocks away, and Ricky entered the Center.  
Having left his pokemon in the care of the nurse, he started to relax.  
'Guess I'll take something to eat first, and rent a room after that' he thought, while walking to the counter.

-ooo-

"So they have arrived in Firideras. Well, that can't be helped. It's not a disaster anymore" Cassy said.  
"What are my orders now" Marcus asked.  
"Return to HQ. I want my team assembled fully here, we have received a new mission."  
"Alright, I'll take the first bus, it's leaving in about half an hour."  
"Good. Cassy out."


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Volcano City, Firideras

"The Rangers continue to investigate the case, hoping to find a definitive answer. For Channel Six, this was Burke Hopeman."  
"Thank you Burke, and that concludes the news for today. The next news report will be at ten o'clock. Good evening everyone."

Not interested in the commercials, Ricky turned the television off. Taking a look in the folder for Firideras he searched for something to do this day. He decided to make a call to the Laboratory to ask about the mission, but as he picked up the phone it rang.

"This is Ricky speaking" he answered.  
"Richard a.k.a. Ricky?" the male-like voice on the other side said.  
"Yes, that's me."  
"Good day. I would like to arrange a meeting at nine o'clock in the lobby of the PokéCenter. Is that alright with you?"  
"Sure."  
"Okay then. You can ask the reception for me. I'll see you at nine o'clock then."

With that the person hung up.  
Ricky checked the clock on the drawers, indicating half past eight.  
'Guess I'll take something to drink.'

-ooo-

Half an hour later, Ricky walked to the table in one of the corners of the lobby. A single man sat there, holding a small briefcase on his lap. He was dressed in a full-black suit and a fitting hat lay in front of him. If his face was any indication of his age, he was about 60 years old, but he seemed to be in top health.

"Are you Sir Lawton?" Ricky asked.  
"Yes, I am. You must be Richard. But please, call me Christopher" he said.  
"And could you please call me Ricky?"  
"Certainly" Christopher said with a smile, "now, to business. The reward for this mission was P100.000."

The man placed the briefcase on the table and pressed two buttons which were concealed from direct sight. Pressing the correct code on the mini-safe inside, the safe opened revealing two small cards.

"May I have your Pok Dex for a moment?"

Ricky placed it on the table, folding it open. The man placed one of the cards in the correct slot, pressed a few buttons, waited for a confirmation and removed it again.

"There, the reward has been transferred. You may check it if you please."

Taking the Pok Dex, Ricky checked his credit-account, and saw it had increased by the correct amount. Meanwhile, Christopher took out the second card whilst putting back the first one.

"This is the second part of the reward. A card which will get you a bike from the Bike Shop in this city" Christopher said, sliding the card towards Ricky.  
"Alright, thanks!"  
"My pleasure. That also concludes our business. If we ever need your services again, we will contact you. Good luck with your pokémon, and goodbye."  
"Goodbye, but hopefully not farewell" Ricky said in response.

With that the man stood up, taking the briefcase with him. Ricky sat on the bench for a while, thinking of what he would do today: first and foremost getting a bike of course.  
'Well, it's no use sitting around here, so let's get going' he thought, and he stood up.

-ooo-

An hour later, Ricky left the Bike Shop with his brand-new custom MTB. Speeding through Firideras, he went to the Pok Mart for supplies. Now having a much larger credit-account, he took a Deluxe-set of PokéBalls, containing a mix of special Apricorn-brand balls, even though it set him back P20.000.  
After taking several six-packs of Super-potions, regular Potions, Heal items and a duo of Revives, he went to the TM & HM section. Taking a Surf HM and several TM's from the shelves, he went to pay.

After having stored everything at his chamber, he went to the Gym in the city.  
After the climb up, the city was build on the slope of a dome-volcano, he parked his bike and went inside the gym.  
Hit in the face by the heat and humidity, he almost passed out. Staggering to the reception desk, he checked if the Leader was around.  
Seeing he was actually available to be battled this and next morning, he wrote his name in for the next morning and decided to take a peek at the current battles.

Taking a can of iced water he walked to the what appeared to be public tribunes.  
As he entered, he noticed several other people watching intensely to the match below.  
Taking a seat, he immediatly saw why: a Magmortar and a Charizard were duking it out.  
According to the scoreboard on the wall, both battlers were down to their last pok mon, so the winner of this battle would win.  
The challenger certainly knew what he was doing, as the Charizard finally came up top and threw the Magmortar against one of the walls, smacking it unconscious.

"Challenger Brandon wins the match! The next match will begin in five minutes" the announcer and commentator said through the speakers.

"That was one hell of a match!" one of the other spectators said against his mates.  
"Yeah, especially how Brandon came back with Charizard alone!" another said.  
"What do you think? Would the next one do just as well?" a third asked the other two.  
"Meh, it's a rookie, according to my info this is his first gym battle." the first one said.  
"Shall we take a break then?" the third one asked, already standing up.

Not paying attention to them anymore, he kept sitting, interested in how rookies, like him, would take down this gym.  
A few minutes later the new challenger arrived on the field.

The kid looked roughly ten years old, so he would most likely be a rookie.  
As the kid placed his Pok Dex in the pillar near the door, his name, Lukas, and chosen Pokémon for this match were displayed on the screen.  
It seemed it would be a two-vs-two match, with a Magmar and Torkoal against a Wartortle and a Kadabra.

-ooo-

After watching the matches, Ricky went back to the Pok Center. Seeing it wasn't time for dinner yet, he decided to go to the Trade Room. Inside, he found a familiar face amongst the handful of trainers. It was Lukas, sitting behind one of the terminals looking for a trade. He was easy to pick out of the group due to his blonde-whitish hair, which was draped in a very peculiar pattern. He also had an overly white skin-colour, leading to belief he's an albino. He was wearing white trousers and a white shirt, making it rather hard to see where his clothes ended and his skin took over.

Ricky didn't payed any further attention to him, and went to one of the free terminals. A pop-up notified him that someone was interested in a Steelix, and was offering a Kadabra for it. Seeing this as a good chance to get a Alakazam, he replied with having an Onix and willing to trade it with a Metal Coat attached. Moments later, another message came in that the searcher accepted the trade. Ricky checked his trade box, and found that his Onix was replaced with an Alakazam.

Checking out his latest attainment, he noticed the original trainer was named Lukas, and the level of the Alakazam was the same as that of the Kadabra Lukas had in the gym. Now intended to check out if this pok mon was indeed from him, he walked over to Lukas, tapping him on the shoulder.  
"Yes, what is it?" Lukas asked.  
"Hi, I was wondering, I just traded with someone called Lukas, and I wondered, have you by any chance offered a Kadabra and received an Onix, or rather, a Steelix from a trainer named Ricky?"  
"Actually, yes" Lukas answered, "I bet you're Ricky then?"  
"Yep."  
"Cool, what are the odds of that?"  
"Pretty low I guess" Ricky said half smiling, half grinning.  
"How 'bout a meal? It's about dinner-time so the kitchen should be opened by now."  
"Okay, maybe we can share some tips and training regiments for our pokémon."

With that, they left the Trade Room, and fifteen minutes later, they were busy eating and talking about their goals.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Battle for the Basher Badge.

The next morning, Ricky woke up refreshed and ready for the Gym Battle.

He had decided to use his Lombre, teaching it to Surf with the HM, and his recently obtained Alakazam.  
He was lucky to still have plenty of cash, and had decided to buy a Twisted Spoon power-item for Alakazam.  
It would set him back a good deal, but it would be worth it.

After checking Dexter for messages, doing the regular morning routine and a good breakfast, he went to the Pok mon Chambers to take out Alakazam and Lombre.  
Making sure they were both ready for battle, he took out the Surf HM and read the instructions in the manual. Putting the disk in his pok dex, he Dexter at the Lombre.  
"Okay Lombre, I want to teach you how to use Surf for battle usage. Are you ready?"  
Lombre nodded in confirmation, and Ricky pressed the start-button to start the learning-process.  
A blueish beam emanated from one of Dexter's output-ports, and as it made contact with Lombre, the pok mon started to glow faintly.  
The glow grew stronger until Lombre could barely be seen except for his silhouette.  
Then the glow fainted quickly, and a message confirming that Lombre knew the attack was displayed on Dexter's screen.  
"Allright Lombre, back in the ball" Ricky said, "we're going to the Gym."

After having checked in at the receptionist, he was brought to a waiting room outside of the arena. A few minutes later, a second pair of doors opened and a smiling trainer came through.  
Being next to battle, he stepped through the door and walked to the challenger's side of the arena.  
On the other side the leader stood. He was a young man, Ricky guessed somewhere in his thirteens. He had muscled arms and legs, and an almost overly muscled body.  
Even though it was very humid and hot in the gym he wore a tight leather short which looked like a swimsuit.

"So, you're next 'eh? Ready for some hot stuff?" Fier said.  
"Sure, let's get it on" Ricky answered.  
"Alright, three-versus-three, let's go!"  
"Nightfire, go!"  
"Torkoal, ready yourself!"

As the pok mon appeared, a geiser erupted along the borders of the arena.

"Torkoal, Mist!"  
"Nightfire, Metal Claw!"

With high speed Nightfire ran to the Torkoal who already was shrouded in mist, making the pok mon hard to see.  
Nightfire ran through the mist, which was still thickening, almost become a very thick fog.  
Appearing at the other side, Nightfire hadn't hit anything.

"Torkoal, Rock Slide" Fier commanded.  
"Nightfire, melt the rock with your flames" Ricky responded.

Even though Nightfire managed to melt part of it, he couldn't help taking most of the attack.  
Scrambling out of the pile of rock, he was visibly shaken and close to fainting.

"Torkoal, finish it with a Flamethrower!"  
"Nightfire, Flamethrower on that geiser!" Ricky shouted, having come up with a plan.

With a last effort, Nightfire shot a jet of fire before he was engulfed by Torkoals attack.  
The small jet was enough to heat up the geiser even more, raising the humidity, making it near impossible to see the other battler.

'Perfect' Ricky thought, recalling Nightfire.  
"And that's one!" Fier boasted.  
"But not the last one" Ricky said, taking Lombre's ball from his belt.  
"Go Lombre!"  
"Hmm, good choice. That'll give my Torkoal some exercise!" Fier laughed.  
"Take his next attack head-on then."  
"Pfwahahah, I call that a bluff! Do your worst!"  
"Lombre, Surf-attack, use the water from the geisers" Ricky commanded.

As Lombre glowed blue-ish, the water besides the arena rose up to a powerfull tidal-wave.  
Directing the attack with its arms, Lombre brought all of it crashing down on the fog, drowning anything inside.  
With a faint cry and bump, the battlers where notified the Torkoal had fainted.

"Good job. Not many got past that one" Fier said, sending the next pok mon out, "now try THIS one!"

According to the information board, the pok mon should be a Magcargo. The pokemon that appeared wasn't the usual form though.  
The shell was much bigger, with mini-volcanos on the side out of which an oozing liquid ran.

Ordering another Surf on the pokemon, Ricky thought he would have won this round too.  
A large cloud of steam erupted around the impact point, but as it faded away a huge shell could be seen.

"Magcargo, Shell Slicer!"

Ricky didn't know what that meant, but it couldn't be good.  
Suddenly, an explosion from inside the shell fragmented the protective barrier and launched parts of it everywhere.  
The ones that hit solid wall, the pieces fell out in tiny bits, but the ones that hit Lombre created cuts and damaged it.  
As the last bits stop travelling, they could see what the attack meant: both pokemon where unable to fight on.  
Magcargo's attack combined Explosion with the shell, and Lombre was hurt to much to barely stand.

"Draw on this one then?" Ricky proposed.  
"Heheh, sure. Let's go all out with our final pokemon" Fier said.  
"Go Kazan!"  
"Magmar, I need you" Fier said, and a moment later a Magmar sprang out of the small pond of magma in a corner of the arena.

"Put up a smokescreen Magmar" Fier commanded.  
"Kazan, use your psychic power to check where he is" Ricky countered, hoping Kazan would get a lock-on.  
"Magmar, close in and do a Fire Punch."

As Kazan looked around, it suddenly got a lock-on, but was too late to evade the attack.  
Having to take the blow full in the chest, Kazan stumbled backwards before recovering its footing.

"Kazan, use Future Sight to predict his next attack."  
"Magmar, attack without thinking!"

Now unable to predict any attacks, Kazan was hit multiple times on several spots.  
Seeing it was going badly on the ground, Ricky tried to think of a plan.

"Kazan, levitate yourself to safety" he finally said.  
"Magmar, Flamethrower, full power!"

Now rising above the ground, Kazan was safe from ground-attacks and could focus more.  
Managing to evade the attack, it kept moving around.

"Kazan, Psybeam!"

Crossing the two spoons the pokemon held, he began to glow purple slightly.  
As the glow intensified, the spoons started to sparkle, powering up the attack even more.

'All right, the TwistedSpoon is working' Ricky thought, happy he bought them earlier.

The attack ready, it was fired with all its deadliness towards the ground where Magmar was moving around.  
Because of the foresight Kazan had, the attack completely overtook the pokemon, crushing it in the ground, creating a small crater.

"All right, that's it" Fier said, continuing with a voice which had a tone of both anger and joy; "time to release everything."  
"Kazan, quickly, do a psychic attack!" Ricky called out, not knowing what Fier was planning.  
"Magmar, Cataclysm!" Fier said loudly, full of both anger and joy of the battle.

As Magmar started to glow himself, the ground started to shake, with the quakes rapidly intensifying.  
The water rapidly dampened away, and the magmapool bubbled intensively. Small eruptions started around the arena, and inside it.  
Some were small, but a few were bigger, easily capable of engulfing a man, and most were expanding in size.

"Kazan, attack now" Ricky cried out, starting to get afraid of what Cataclysm would do, "keep attacking until that Magmar faints!"

Kazan now started to fire attack after attack, but the Magmar was still standing.  
The quakes reached their peak, and more eruptions started in the arena, the number and intensity rapidly growing until about everything was one large eruption.

"Magmar, unleash!" Fier said.

As Fier gave the command, the entire arena became one large eruption, engulfing the entirety with lava.  
With both pokemon now unable to be seen, neither Ricky nor Fier knew who would be the winner.

"Magmar, stop the attack." Fier commanded.

As the lava streamed away the both saw an amazing sight: both Magmar and Kazan where still standing, though both barely.

"Magmar, Fire Punch!"  
"Kazan, ThunderPunch!"

As Ricky gave the command, Fier knew he had lost. An Ice or Fire Punch wouldn't have hurt to bad, but a ThunderPunch was more effective than the Fire Punch.  
As the attacks collided, a last explosion marked the end of the battle.  
After the smoke cleared up, Magmar was lying facedown on the ground, while Kazan was still standing.

-ooo-

A short time later, he was back in his room in the Center, planning ahead on his journey. Now that Lukas and he joined up as travelling partners, he decided to go south to the bigger cities first, and then east on the high seas.  
Lukas already wanted to go south, and with the bigger cities there, he couldn't argue with that.

-ooo-

Author's notes:  
1) Fier is pronounced fei- hr 


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: ?

"Cassy, what about Marcus and target X?"  
"Yes. Though Marcus has violated a direct order, we do know now that the target has reached it's destination."  
"Well, nothing to be done about that. Setim already has begun an effort to extract a similar creature from the nest."  
The man smiled, now that everything was according plan, even though there where setbacks.  
Cassy thought it was best to wait until he ordered her away, lest she angered him even more.

"Cassy, I wan't you to go to the Kanto region. In the past, I had a headquarters there."  
"And what do you wish me to do?"  
"I will give you instructions which you will read while you travel. You will have enough time."  
The man thought for a moment, and continued: "you will go by boat. The SS Maria is leaving soon, but I will arrange they will wait for you to be aboard."  
"The SS Maria? That's quite a luxurious ship sir, isn't that to big a budget?"  
"No, the ship was once part of my fleet, but I've send Ellen to my old shipyard to re-establish operationallity, and to set up a base of operations in the Katando region."  
"The ship is back under your flag then."  
"Indeed. I want you to take your entire team with you. You'll need it."  
"Yes sir."  
"You can go. Enjoy the trip."

With a salute, Cassy turned around, and walked out of the office.  
'The SS Maria' she thought, 'that's about two weeks of full luxury.'  
Smiling, she walked outside to her Charizard.  
Mounting it, she ordered to fly to Cecid Port.

-ooo-

"Send Boille in here" the man said through the intercom.

A few seconds later, the door to the office opened, and a large man came through.  
His sharp blue eyes where fixed on the wall behind the man, his muscled arms swinging stretched with each stride.  
"Yes Giovanni" he said with a deep, clear voice.  
"I told you, you are to call me sir. I don't want people to know I'am back." Giovanni said.  
"Sorry sir, it won't happen again sir"  
"You said that more times than I can remember. I hope this really is the last time."

Giovanni stared at the man, looking if he could trust him. Boille performed excellent on missions, but insubordination caused trouble.  
He decided he could trust him, but made a mental note to be carefull with him.

"You're to go to Capitalos. The annual festival will begin next month, and I want you and your team to make sure to get as much of the prize money back."  
"Yes sir, anything else?"  
"Be sure not to say my name in any context, or you're a Grunt."  
"Yes sir."  
"Oh, send Bob in here. He's one of your grunts right?"  
"Yes sir, I will send him in here."

A minute later, Bob came in the office, he looked quite the same as Boille, though he was a tad less muscled.

"Bob, you're hereby promoted to the rank of Captain. You will receive special instructions for the next mission. Read them carefully, and destroy them afterwards."  
"Yes sir, thank you sir."  
"Dismissed."

As Bob left the room, Giovanni pressed a button on his desk.  
The doors and shutters closed and locked, leaving him alone.  
The painting behind him slid away, revealing a television screen.

"Good day to you all" Giovanni said with a smile on his face.  
He would finally reveal himself to those who needed to know.  
"I think you might know me. I'am Giovanni, and I wish to tell you something."

The persons on the television didn't flinch, but Giovanni knew they would probably be to scared to show any emotion.

"I have a demand to make. It's a simple one. Do not interfere with me. Goodbye" Giovanni said, pressing another button on the desk.

The painting slid back, and the shutters and door unlocked.

'That takes care of that. Just scare them and they'll be easy to mold.'

-ooo-

"Look! The shore!" Lukas said.  
"Alright, we'll have to turn left over there, or we'll end up in the water." Ricky said.  
"There isn't a gym in Cecid , guess it isn't worth it yet."  
"Well, if you want to go to Kanto and the other regions over there."  
"Haha, do you have enough money?"  
"Nah, maybe after the league. You get a special pass to get to a different region. Kanto is a good choice, as you can get to Johto easily from there."

The two boys had been travelling for three days now, making a way west and south towards Millian City.  
Now that they finally got to the shore, it would take two more days travelling south before they would hit the mansion grounds near Millian.  
After that, they would be in the second largest city of Satar.

Millian was a large city, almost as big as Capitalos, but because of the port of Capitalos, it had less workers and thus inhabitants.  
The boys wanted to visit the gym and quickly travel further to Capitalos.  
With the Grand Festival approaching, they wanted to enter the preliminary rounds for the main battles, as the ones who entered automatically received one of the eight required badges.  
Having only seven gyms in the region, and the eight gym only around annualy, they didn't want to miss it.

"I think this is a good place to camp" Ricky said.  
"Huh, already?"  
"Yeah, look at the clouds behind us. I want the tents up before the rain reaches us."  
"Ah, right. Well, that's the risk of this route. I've checked the pokedex, and there's a large campsite only a few hundred meters up ahead."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah, it's trainers only, so maybe we can have a night-battle. It would be good training for the gyn in Industiria."  
"Alright, guess we'll take it." 


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Ghosts of the Past

Giovanni stood up from his chair, walking to one of the balconies.  
Looking to the grounds below, he thought of what happened in the same exact spot, years before. The Gym in Lavender Town was destroyed, operations throughout the land failed and the loss of the Mew-clone Mewtwo had broken his position bit by bit. Ultimately, after a failed attempt to recapture Mewtwo he lost all support of the regional Directors. They unanimously decided he was to be expelled, and they disbanded regional sections of Team Rocket or went on under a new banner.

He knew he almost had Mewtwo back, and knew he could get him back if only he could remember where the artificial pokémon was. A team of scientist had succesfully broken most of the psychic block on his memory with the use of the psychic powers of several Alakazam. After several months of trying to unlock the final lock on his memory, they gave up.

He had sold most of his belongings he didn't need anymore, and travelled the world for several years. Thinking he wouldn't be able to settle down, he went from town to town, until he came upon a temple dedicated to the pokémon Arceus. There, he learned of the legend, and that a very special breed of pokémon existed. His heart rekindled, he set out to find the legendary site where they lived, and was surprised it where all Eevee's.

He decided to study them for a while, and after a month or four, his patience was rewarded. Due to a small landslide, stones imbued with evolutionary power where deposited near a nest. Young Eevee's touched the stones and evolved, but to his shock, they immediatly started to devolve. Observing a single Eevee, he quickly noticed it touched other stones and evolved into other forms, devolving thereafter.

A week later, the weather worsened, and a blizzard came swooping the land. Still observing the same Eevee, which he nicknamed Jack, from jack-of-all-trades, he saw it battling with another Eevee. During the fight, they would often switch evolutionary forms, continuing to try and get an advantage over the other. As Jack suddenly got a good hit in, the other flinched back and failed to switch form, allowing Jack to defeat it with another attack.

As Jack devolved, the blizzard hit in full strength, triggering a gene in Jack's DNA. He saw it evolve into another form he hadn't encountered before. After the blizzard was over, he decided to leave. Before he left, the sun shone brightly through the clouds. The Eevee's that where caught in the rays now also evolved in another different form.

As he left, Giovanni had been sure he encountered something odd and worthy of legend. His mind already was reeling with plans on what to do with this knowledge. Though his heart had softened in the years of travelling, he still longed for vengeance. As he left, he heard an Eevee calling, and looked back. Seemingly wanting to go along with the him, he saw Jack coming toward him.

That was now nearly ten years ago. He had rebuild a team of people who he knew where loyal to him in those years, and renewed his business interest to restore his fortune. The ruling elite in Satar being corrupt, he had easily established a base of operations and restarted the team.

Giovanni walked down the stairs onto the grounds below. Jack had already seen him standing on the balcony and came toward him. The other pokémon where either sleeping or playing among themselves, if they weren't with their trainers. He had specifically told his new followers to be kinder to their pokémon than the old members where. He had decided that being a bit more kind to them would bring no more harm than being rough against them, and would do wonders when the pokémon where called upon their loyalty.

When he had heard that a new Master had risen, he immediatly had checked who it was. He wasn't surprised it was one of the trainers who had destroyed his foundations of power. He decided he would leave him alone for the time being, and so far, nothing good nor bad had come from it.

-ooo-

Looking around, Ash saw the people present waiting with alarmed curiousity. It was rare such meetings where held, especially unannounced. Reasons for such meetings had been rare the past decade, with only a single earthquake and a small volcano that had erupted. Neither had happened in the past week, so it was natural those present where confused or alarmed. As he cleared his throat, everyone fell silent and turned toward him.

"Professors, members of the Elite Four and League Champions, we need to talk. I've heard reports from the Satar region which disturb me" Ash said with a solemn tone. "There have been several incidents involving bribery of officials and even an attack on one of the researchers in the region. Normally, this wouldn't cause such an alarm, but I've heard rumours that several persons involved have been members of the long disbanded Team Rocket."

Pausing a moment for effect, he saw everyone turning from slightly alarmed to seriously alarmed. Team Rocket had caused much trouble in its glory years, and if it returned, consequences would not be overseeable.

"I also have an eyewitness who saw Giovanni, confirmed to have led Team Rocket in the past, in several places. One of these include the Lisernas Mansion."

Everyone was paying full attention now. Standing up, Ash looked towards Gary, once his rival, now his trusted friend. They had discussed the matter beforehand and already had decided something had to be done.

"We have to take action before it is too late. We cannot let Team Rocket return, let alone get more and more power."

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement, creating a small smile on Ash's face.

"So, anyone got suggestions?" Ash asked, "I would like to hear them."


	14. Chapter 13

The World at Large

"Let's see" the man said, "two sites for single persons, one room in the hotel. I'am afraid I don't have that much left for you to choose from."  
"What shall we do Lukas, take two separate sites or share the room?" Ricky asked his companion.  
The boy frowned, he didn't like to camp to far apart from people he knew, but to sleep in the same room was going a bit too far.  
"I don't know. Do you have nothing else left?" he asked the man behind the counter.  
"No, sorry. And the next campsite is several miles, too far to travel to" he answered.  
"The room then, Ricky? It'll be warmer than a tent."  
"Okay, we'll take the room. Put it on our tab. We leave tomorrow after breakfast."  
"Of course" the man said, "breakfast is server between six and ten in the morning."

Now that they had a place to sleep, Ricky and Lukas decided to go to the central room.  
Fires were burning in the hearths around the room which was filled with travelers, among which were many trainers.  
One corner had a pair of computer terminals in it.  
Another was geared towards trainers with several desks with the top painted as to resemble a pokeball.  
The people inside took a short glance at the newcomers, but went back to their own business as soon as they saw them to be trainers.

"Trainer's corner then?" Lukas asked.  
"Yeah, let's see if there's anyone who comes from Millian. Maybe we can pry loose some information."  
"That's a good idea."

Walking to the corner with the poke-tables, Ricky saw a familiar face sitting in one of the seats.  
He couldn't quite place her, but at the looks of it, it was an important person. The group of trainers around here listened to whatever she was discussing with the person in the opposite seat.

"Isn't that Leony of the Satar Elite Four?" Lukas asked him.  
"I do believe so" Ricky answered, "but she looks much younger than I remember her being."  
"Yeah, that strikes me too. Maybe it's a younger sister or daughter?"  
"I dunno, I never heard about her family. The private lives of the Elite Four are pretty much off-limits for anyone."

As they came close enough to hear the conversation, they hushed to hear what was being said.

"So I want to warn you, there have been some abnormalities with the trading system as of late. Please do not use it anymore untill the problem has been fixed" the woman said.  
"But what if we want to trade to evolve them, like Kadabra for Alakazam, or Magmar for a Magmortar?" one of the trainers said.  
"I'am afraid that too is not possible" the woman said, "I need to go now. I have other duties to attend to."

As the woman walked away from the group of trainers, which was dispersing into smaller groups to discuss what they had heard, she turned and went straight for the bar, winking to Ricky and Lukas.  
"Come with me" she formed with her lips, not waiting to look if they complied.  
Ricky and Lukas glanched at each other, then walked to the bar, taking a seat besides the woman.

"Goodevening. My name is Julianna. You might recognise my face" the woman said.  
"Goodevening. I'am Ricky, that's Lukas, with a 'k', not a 'c'." Ricky replied.  
"I know. I know you especially well Ricky. I'am the daughter of one of the Elite Four as you might have guessed." Julianna said.  
"I thought as much" Lukas said with a grin of satisfaction.  
"I knew you wouldn't be here untill now so I had time to explain some important things to the trainers here."  
"But we're trainers too, shouldn't we know too?" Ricky asked.  
"Yes indeed, but there's an additional point I have to tell you about."  
"Well, break loose I'd say" Lukas said.  
"I will, but have a drink first" she said, and at a whim the Mr. Mime tending the bar shoved a pair of glasses and a bottle of coke towards them.  
"It's a long talk" Julianna said with a grim face, "and you won't like it a bit, just as any trainer. Let's go to my room."

-ooo-

"It started about a year ago. We didn't know then that it was happening, but we have finally noticed the first problems in the world that were big enough to be noticed" she started.  
"It most likely started with psychic pokemon losing part of their power, or gaining a lot of power. Later, Ghost-types started to fade away, becoming mere wisps, while others somehow stayed the same. We suspected the balance between legendary pokemon was disturbed somehow, and started to do some research."

Taking a sip from her drink, she watched Ricky and Lukas, both listening intensly.

"We couldn't find several of the major powers among them, all of them having at least partially psychic powers. Think of pokemon like Lugia, able to talk telepathically. Worried, we called across the world to gather the finest of the finest among pokemon scientist, scholars, trainers and heads of the Elite Four. We decided we would choose several trainers to do rather simple missions. Escort missions with pokemon of value to poachers, gangs and other dangers. You two were the only ones who had the right attitude and power, amongst other qualities, and passed the tests we did whilst travelling with you. Both of you were able to trust on your pokemon, even when in danger. Though you, Ricky was actually lucky to escape them. That wasn't the test we wanted to perform. That was an actuall gang."  
Ricky remembered the encounter, now seeing it in a different light. It did seem frightenly real, and if the professor he had escorted had known it was fake, she wouldn't have been so afraid.

"Now, problems are worsening. Computers are starting to malfunction, the trade system has been brought to a halt due to faults. You two were lucky your pokemon made it through. It was one of the last trades conducted for a long time. A trade after you went wrong, and the pokemon somehow had ceased to exist within the pokeballs. We hope they haven't suffered, because the pokeballs where destroyed after they came through. You might have encountered pokemon who seemed stronger than they should have been for either their evolutionary form, or their size, or some other restriction. That's the least of your worries. We have a confirmation that the old leader of Team Rocket has resurfaced.  
We do not know yet what they are planning to do, but we're afraid he has something do to with all this. I'am here to ask something of you. Something that's going to be strange. And dangerous."

She waited for a moment, taking another sip from her drink, watching intently in both the boys eyes.

"Take me with you on your journey. We have consulted a seer-pokemon of sorts, an Alakazam who still had his powers at that point, and it made us clear a trio of two males and a female would bring it back to normal."  
"Then why do you ask?" Ricky asked her.  
"Because it had to been done out of free will."  
"Hmm, and what do we get out of it?" Lukas said.  
"An offer for a position in the Elite Four for the both of you or a fully-sponsored gym in the Satar region, as we're lacking an eight gym, and of course a full compensation for any cost made in the effort. Plus one rare pokemon, specially bred to be given to trainers who have done outstanding services."  
"I'll take it." Lukas said.  
"Me too. We've hadn't had an interesting encounter since we left Firideras." Ricky said.  
"Good. I'll leave these letters here for both of you to read. Burn them thereafter, but fill in the form."  
"We'll do that ma'am."  
"Call me Julianna."


End file.
